Lightning-arrester.



J. O. HOLTON. LIGHTNING ARRESTER.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 30, 1912.

1,078,922, I Patented Nov. 18,1913.

JAMES OLIVER HOLTON, OF SPRINGFIELD, MISSOURI.

LIGHTNING-ARRESTER.

' Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 18, 1913.

Application filed July 30, 1912. Serial No. 712,292.

To a 1071 01m it may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES OLIVER H01.- 'lON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Springfield, in the county of Greene and State of Missouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Lightning- Arresters, of which the following is a specification.

The object of this invention has been to devise a simple form of lightning arrester adapted to perform the customary functions of a device of this type,namely to prevent likelihood of damage or other disastrous effects that would otherwise be incidental to passage of abnormal currents over electric lines, circuits, or systems.

In carrying out the invention a device has been provided comprising a casing in Whichare arranged peculiarly formed arrestermembers of carbon or equivalent substance. The manner of assembling the arrestermembers, the peculiar shape of the same and other detail features of construction form the essential features of the invention and will be clearly understood upon reference to the following description and accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a side elevation of the electrical protective apparatus of which the lightning arrester of this invention forms a part; Fig. 2 is a front view of the apparatus as shown in Fig. 1, the fuse boxes to which the lightning arrcster is common, being quite clearly disclosed; Fig. 3 is a vertical longitudinal sectional View taken through the lightning arrester alone; Fig. 4 is a transverse section taken on line H of Fig. 8.

\Vhile the lightning arrester of my pres ent invention illustrated at A is shown in connection with certain other protective means for electric lines, said means including fuse boxes B, mounted upon the base C, as is the arrester A, it is contemplated that this invention may be employed independently of the special apparatus above mentioned. That is to say thepresent lightning arrester may be readily used along with certain automatic successive fuse mechanism which is inclosed in each of the boxes B, or may be included in electric circuits in which said fuse means are not employed. Since the fuse boxes and interior parts form the subject matter of a separate application for patent filed July 30th, 1912, Serial No. 712,293, I shall not attempt to describe the same in detail.

The lightning arrester forming the essen tial subject matter of this invention, comprises a casing composed of a lower section 1, and an upper or cover section 2. The section 2 fits down over the lower section 1 of the casing and said parts are secured together by means of fastening bolts 3 or the like. Arranged within the casing of the arrester A are the arrester-members 4 between which is located an arrester-member 5. The arrester-members 4 are each of the same construction and one only will be de1 scribed. Said member i is provided at its lower end with a tongue or extension fitting snugly in a recessfi in the upper side of the lower section 1 of the casing. The innermost wall of the arrester member 5 inclines upwardly and inwardly while the outer wall of said member is vertical' or straight, see Fig. 3. The upper or cover section 2 of the casing is formed with a rib or tongue 7 which projects into a groove or seat in the upper side of the member 4. The intermediate arrester member 5 is held in proper position in the casing in a manner somewhat similar to the members 4:. Said arrester member 5, however, has opposite walls thereof inclining outwardly and upwardly and terminating quite closely spaced in relation to the corresponding upper end portions of the arrester members 4:. At its lower end the member 5 has a tongue seated in a recess 7 of the section 1 and a tongue or rib 8 projecting downwardly from the section 2 engages in a recess in the upper side of the member 5. By reason of the relative arrangement of the parts 4 and 5 upwardly converging spaces are formed between said parts. The said spaces provide gaps between the several arrester-members, across which gaps the lightning or abnormal electrical charges must pass in the operation of grounding the same. Beneath each of the arrester-members 4 is a binding post 9, which passes entirely through the section 1, the upper end of said post having a contact head 10 of substantially the same area as the lower end of the adjacent member 4.- and in close contact with said end. A suitable binding nut is carried by the lower outer extremity of the post 9 so as to secure the artion 1 of the casing.

rester to a suitable conductor which in the present instance consists of an arm 11 of a bracket 12, two of which cooperate to support the adjacent fuse boxes 13. A third binding post 13, like the posts '9, has a contact head engaging the lower end of the intermediate arrester-member 5 and the nut of said post 13 secures a conductor 14, in the form of a circuit Wire to said post 13, and the conductor 14 leads to the ground. An abnormal electrical charge received on either side of a main line circuit will be conducted by the conductor 11 included in said side of the circuit to the connected carbon of the arrester member 4: which is so close to the arrester member 5 that the charge will jump across the gap afforded by the space between said parts and will then pass through the arrester member 5, its post 13, and the conductor 14, to earth.

If desired to connect the arrester with one side of the line only, both of the arrester members 4 may be readily connected with said line, thereby affording two differentconnections between the single line and the ground conductor.

In order that there may be no liability of short circuiting by reason of the accumulation of disintegrated portions of the carbon members 4- and 5 in the space between said parts, it is contemplated to provide troughs or channels 15 in the upper side of the sec- These channels or troughs are located beneath the spaces between the parts 4 and 5 and will receive dust or any foreign matter by which a liability of short-circuiting might be created, therefore avoiding any defective operation of the device, such as might otherwise be incurred.

To prevent the abnormal current from jumping from the conductor 11 direct to the ground conductor 14: without entering the casing and passing through the carbon arrester members 4 and 5, it is contemplated to provide lugs or baffie members 16 consisting of integral projections extending downwardly from the section 1. As the casing parts 1 and 2 are made of insulating substance preferably porcelain, the integral projections forming the bafiie members 16 constitute barriers of insulation between the conductors 11 and the conductors 14 adapted to afford the advantage hereinbefore referred to.

The arrangement of the arrester members in the casing A is such as to facilitate the ready removal and replacement of said members and furthermore, it will be understood the exact spacing of the arrester members is immaterial and may be varied, according as found best under practical conditions of service.

While the preferred construction of my arrester is illustrated in the drawings, I do not restrict myself to such construction exactly, since it may be found desirable to change certain detail parts and modify their arrangement slightly as consistent with the broader spirit of the invention and scope of the claims forming a part hereof.

Having now described the invention what is claimed as newis:

1. In a lightning arrester, the combination of a support of insulating material, arrester members mounted thereon and upstanding therefrom, said arrester members having upwardly converging walls and being spaced apart, and the material of the support between the arrester members being formed into trough shape at the base of the arrester members, with the walls of the trough converging downwardly.

2. In a lightning arrester, the combination of a base of insulating material having grooves, a casing connected to said base and having internally disposed ribs extending toward the base, and arrester members having their lower portions extending into and sustained by engagement with the grooves of the base, each of said arrester members being formed at its upper portion with a groove receiving one of the ribs of the casing, the several arrester members being juxtaposed for high tension discharge across the intervening air gap.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JAMES OLIVER HOLTON.

Witnesses:

VINT. N. BRAY, C. T. REDDINGTON. 

